Multiple contact snap action slide switch

ABSTRACT

A snap action slide switch is provided having a contactor assembly engaging a common contact and selectively engaging one of a plurality of discrete contacts. A slider extends outwardly through a slot in a housing containing the contacts and has legs extending over the ends of a spring seated in the contactor assembly thereby biasing the contactor assembly to move with the slider. Projections on the contactor assembly engage notches on the housing to position the contactor assembly in engagement with a selected discrete contact and the common contact and to restrain the contactor assembly from movement with the slider. Movement of the slider relative to the contactor assembly compresses the spring and moves a cam depending from the slider into engagement with a cam surface on the contactor assembly. Relative movement between the cam and cam surface produces pivoting of the contactor assembly and removal of the projections from the notches permitting the force of the compressed spring to snap the contactor assembly into engagement with another of the discrete contacts.

United States Patent Zdanys, Jr. et al.

[$4] MULTIPLE CONTACT SNAP ACTION SLIDE SWITCH [72] inventors: JohnZdanys, Jr., Edwardsburg; William L. Kelver, Jr., Cassopoli s, both ofMich.; Norman C. Weingart, Elkhart, Ind.

[73] Assignee: CTS Corporation, Elkhart, Ind.

[22] Filed: Dec. 17, 1969 [2]] Appl. No.: 885,873

[52] US. Cl ..200/76, 200/68, 206/16 Hults .200/ l 6 Feb. 15, 1972Primary Examiner David Smith, In

Attorney-John J. Gaydoa one of a plurality'of discrete contacts. Aslider extends out- I wardly through a slot in a housing containing thecontacts and v has legs extending over the ends of a spring seated inthe contactor assembly thereby biasing the contactor assembly to V 1move with the slider. Projections on the contactor assembly engagenotches on the housing to position the contactor assembly in engagementwith a selected discrete contact and the common contact and to restrainthe contactor assembly from movement with the slider. Movement of theslider relative to the contactor assembly compreses the spring and movesa cam depending from the slider into engagement with a cam surface onthe contactor assembly. Relative movement between the cam and camsurface produces pivoting of the contactor assembly and removal of theprojections from the notches permitting the force of the compressedspring to snap the contactor assembly into engagement with another ofthe discrete contacts.

20 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEB 15 I972 mvENToiis JOHN ZDANYSJR.

WILLIAM L. KELVER JR. NORMAN C. WEING AR T BY WW W411 9YATTORNEYYMULTIPLE CONTACT SNAP ACTION SLIDE SWITCH This invention relatesgenerally to electrical switches and, more particularly, to a multiplecontact snap action electrical switch.

In the past there has been a large number of multiple contact switchessuch as that shown by Hoy et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,223,794QThese switchesin general have been slow make, slow break. Because the movement of thecontactor relative to the contacts has not been sufficiently rapid,destruction of either the bridging contactor or stationary contactsoccurs due to arcing between the movable contactor and stationarycontact surfaces when the contactor and contact surfaces are not inengagement. While the major cause of arcing is due to slow relativemovement between the contactor and contact surfaces, arcing also occursdue to the movable contactor bouncing against the stationary contactsurfaces as the switch is closed and due to insufficient contactpressure between the bridging contactor and stationary contact surfaces.Insufficient contact pressure also contributes to objectionably highcontact resistance, i.e., the electrical resistance between the bridgingcontactor and stationary contact surfaces. It would be desirable toprovide a multiple contact snap action slide switch capable of veryrapidly making and breaking an electrical circuit designed so that oneor more movable contactors within the switch cannot be held in a neutralor center position by teasing the switch, that is carefully controllingor manipulating the switch actuating member. Such a structure would bedesirable to provide an improved economically producible switch whereincontactor bounce, arcing, burning and contact resistance within theswitch housing is substantially eliminated or reduced and yet whereinsuch switch may be readily and inexpensively fabricated.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a newand improved electrical switch having the various desirable features setforth above. Another object of the present invention is to provide a newand improved electrical switch wherein spring means operates to providefast and crisp movement of a bridging contactor relative to a pluralityof stationary contact surfaces. Still another object of the presentinvention is to provide a snap action switch that is tease proof, i.e.,the switch cannot be held in a neutral or center position by carefullycontrolling or manipulating the switch actuating member. A furtherobject of the present invention is to provide an electrical switchcapable of performing a large number of cycles without destruction ofthe bridging contactor or stationary contacts due to arcing between suchcontactor and stationary contact surfaces. A still further object of thepresent invention is to provide a new and improved electrical switchwherein a slider stores energy in a spring upon initial movement andupon further movement releases the energy permitting the spring torapidly snap a contactor assembly into engagement with contact surfaces.Further objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following description proceeds and the features ofnovelty characterizing the invention will be pointed out withparticularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thisspecification.

Briefly, the present invention is concerned with a multiple contact snapaction slide switch employing a bridging contactor that selectivelyengages a common contact and one of a plurality of discrete contacts. Ina preferred embodiment a contactor assembly is movable within a housingcontaining a plurality of discrete contacts and a common contact mountedon a dielectric base. A slider having a handle extending outwardlythrough a slot in the housing is resiliently connected to the contactorassembly by means of a spring seated in the contactor assembly. Legs ofthe slider extend over both ends of the spring to bias the contactorassembly to move with said slider. A plurality of notches in the housingcooperate with a projection on the contactor assembly to restrain thecontactor from moving with initial movement of the slider. Movement ofthe slider relative to the contactor assembly compresses the spring andmoves a cam depending from the slider into engagement with a cam surfaceon the contactor assembly. As

the cam moves on the cam surface, the contactor assembly pivots on thebridging contactor until the projection is removed from the notch, atwhich time the compressed spring snaps the contactor assembly intoengagement with another of the discrete contacts.

For a better understanding of the present invention reference may be hadto the accompanying drawings wherein the same reference numerals havebeen applied to like parts and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an electrical switch control embodyingthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the control shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line Ill-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG- 3, assumingFIG. 3 to be shown in full; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are fragmentary sectional views taken along line V-V ofFIG. '4, assuming FIG. 4 to be shown in full, with parts broken away toillustrate the relative positions'of the switch parts during operation.

Referring now to the drawings an electrical switch is generallyindicated at 10 having a housing 11 comprising a plurality of wallsincluding a dielectricbase 12 and a metal cover 13. Tabs 14 extend fromthe walls-of thev cover l3 and are folded over the dielectric base 12 tosecure the base 12 to the cover 13. The cover 13 is provided withrestraining means comprising a plurality of pairs of notches 15, 15a,15b, whose function will be described later.

The switch 10 is provided with an operating member of slider 16 havingcontrol operating means in the form of a handle 17. The cover 13 isprovided with an opening in the form of an elongated slot 18 throughwhich the handle 17 extends. The slider 16 is preferably made of a onepiece suitable dielectric material, however, the handle 17 could be madeseparately and secured to the main body of the slider 16. A pair of legs19 depend from the slider 16 into engagement with the dielectric base12. A shoulder 21 extending around the handle 17 slidably engages thecover 13 adjacent the slot 18. The legs 19 and shoulder 21 serve toprevent the slider 16 from rocking when the handle 17 is movedlongitudinally in the slot 18. A cam 22 depends downwardly from theslider 16 on each side of a plane passing through the legs 19. Each cam22 comprises downwardly converging cam surfaces 23. An apertured detentspring 24 is disposed on the slider around the shoulder 21. The

spring having a pair of detents 25 which project into one of the pair ofnotches 14, 15a, 15b, 150 of cover 13 restrains inadvertent movement ofthe slider 16 relative to the cover 13. This eliminates sloppy movementof the slider 16 in the housing I];

A contact track or common contact 27 and a plurality of discretecontacts 28 are positioned on the dielectric base 12. Each discretecontact 28 is electricallysecured to a terminal 26 extending outwardlyof the housing 11 for connection toan electrical circuit. As shown inFIG. 4 the discrete contact '28 extends through the dielectric base 12,passes through a hole in the terminal 26 and is deformed over theterminal 26 to secure the discrete contact 28 to the tenninal 26. Thecommon contact 27 formed with one end comprising an integral terminal 29passing through an opening in the base 12, extends outwardly of thehousing 11 for connection to an electrical circuit. In FIG. 5 the otherend of the common contact 27 is shown passing through an opening in thebase 12 and folded over the base 12 to secure the common contact 27 tothe base 12. Since the common contact 27 simply provides means forestablishing a closed circuit with the discrete contacts28 and thetenninals 26 and 29 many different constructions could be utilizeddepending upon the switch application. Where it is desired to operatemore than one circuit it would be necessary to have more than one commoncontact 27 and one terminal 29. Such a construction could be-providedbysplitting the common contact 27 and extending a tenninal 29 from bothportions or by replacing the common contact 27 with a plurality ofindividual contacts similar to discrete contactsi=28, each having aterminal extending outwardly of the housing] I.

As best shown in FIG. 2, a contactor assembly 30, comprising a driver31, preferably made of a suitable dielectric material, and a conductivebridging contactor 32, is positioned within the housing engaging thecommon contact 27 and selectively engaging one of the discrete contacts28 to establish a closed circuit therebetween. The bridging contactor 32is provided with an opening 33 adapted to receive an extension 34 (seeFIG. 4) depending from the driver 31. By making the bridging contactor32 of a suitable resilient material, the arms 32a of the contactor biasthe opening 33 into engagement with the extension 34. Ordinarily theresilient force of the bridging contactor 32 is sufficient to maintainengagement of extension 34 in opening 33 and constrain the bridgingcontactor 32 to move with the driver 31, however, the contactor 32 maybe additionally secured in any suitable manner, e.g., the end portion ofextension 34 could be deformed over the portion of the contactor 32surrounding opening 33. The driver 31 is provided with a groove 36 whichseats a resilient means in the form of a spring 37. On each side of thegroove 36 a channel 38 isprovided with outwardly diverging tapered endsurfaces 39 providing cam surfaces for cooperating with cams 22 on theslider 16. When the switch 10 is assembled the earns 22 are positionedto ride in the channels 38. Projections 41 extend upwardly from thedriver 31 for engagement in one of the pair of notches 15, 15a, 15b, 15cof cover 13. The resilient force of the bridging contactor 32 biases theprojections 41 into one of the pair of notches 15, 15a, 15b, 15c. Switch10 is assembled with the legs 19 of the slider 16 positioned over theends of the spring 37. The interaction of the spring 37 with the legs 19resiliently biases the driver 31 to move with the slider 16. Since thedriver 31 is restrained from movement due to engagement of projections41 in one of the pair of notches 15, 15a, 15b, 15c, before movement ofthe driver 31 can occur the projections 41 must be disengaged from oneof the pair of notches 15, 15a, 15b, 150. As will be later describedmovement of cams 22 against cam surfaces 39 provides releasing means todisengage projections 41 from notches 15, 15a, 15 b, 150. Since thecontactor assembly 30 is restrained from moving with the slider 16 whileprojections 41 are positioned in one of the pair of notches 15, 15a,15b, 15c,

the spring 37 permits relative movement between the contac-' torassembly 30 and the slider 16. During such relative movement the spring37 will be compressed by one ofthe legs 19.

, The operation of the switch is best explained by reference to FIGS.and 6. FIG. 5 shows the position of the various elements of the switchafter initial movement of the slider 16 in the direction of the arrow.Since the driver 31 is restrained from moving with the slider 16 due toengagement of projections 41 in notches 150, such movement producesrelative movement between the driver 31 and the slider 16. As isapparent the detent spring 24, constrained to move with the slider 16,has moved so as to disengage the detents 25 from notches a. One of thelegs 19 of the slider 16 has compressed the spring 37 thereby biasingthe contactor assembly 30 to move with the slider 16. As shown in FIG. 5one of the earns 22 depending from the slider 16 abuts the cam surface39 of the channel 38. As shown in FIG. 6 further movement of the slider16 from its position in FIG. 5 relative to the contactor assembly 30will force the cam 22 to move upwardly relative to the cam surface 39.Since the slider 16 is constrained from rocking due to engagement of thelegs 19 against the base 12, and engagement of the shoulder 21 againstthe housing 11, the contactor assembly 30 pivots counterclockwise. Suchfurther movement of the slider 16 from its position in FIGS relative tothe contactor assembly 30 overcomes the resilient pressure of thebridging contactor 32 causing the contactor assembly 30 to pivotcounterclockwise about an axis passing through the points of engagementof the arms 32a of bridging contactor 32 with the contacts 27 and 28.This pivoting begins movement of the projections 41 out of engagementfrom the notches 15a. FIG. 6 shows the switch 10 just prior to movementof the contactor assembly 30 into engagement with an adjacent discretecontact 28. Additional movement of the slider 16 from its position inFIG. 6 will start movement of the detents 25 into engagement in thenotches 15b adjacent to the notches Such additional movement of theslider 16 permits the contactor assembly 30 to pivot sufficiently toremove the projections 41 from notches 15a at which time the force builtup in the compressed spring 37 will snap the contactor assembly 30 intoengagement with the next adjacent discrete contact 28 and maintaincontact with the common contact 27. It is readily apparent that thebridging contact 32 will remain in contact with discrete contact 28until the projections 41 are removed from the notches 15a whereupon thebridging contactor 32 moves rapidly into engagement with the nextadjacent discrete contact 28. This rapid motion substantially eliminatesarcing and corresponding destruction of either the bridging contactor 32or stationary contacts, discrete contacts 28 and common contact 27,occurring in the slow-make, slowbreak switches shown in the prior art.As the bridging contactor 32 comes into engagement with the nextadjacent discrete contact 28, the projection 41 engages the adjacentnotch 15b in the housing 11 thereby preventing the contactor assembly 30from bouncing back due to the resilient force of the bridging contactor32 ordinarily tending to force the bridging contactor 32 away from thediscrete contact 28. Each pair of notches 15, 15a, 15b, 15c, correspondsto one of the discrete contacts 28 so as to ensure positioning thebridging contactor 32 in engagement with one of the discrete contacts 28when the projections 41 are engaged in the corresponding pair of notches15, 15a, 15b, 15c

Since the detents 25 on the detent spring 24 are moving into theadjacent notches 15b as the projections 41 on the contactorassembly moveout of the notches 150, the switch 10 is tease proof since the slider 16cannot be held so as to hold the bridging contactor 32 in a neutral orcenter position. Also in accord with the present invention, as theslider moves from one switch position to another switch position andpivots the contactor assembly to remove the projections 41 from thenotches 15a, the contactor assembly is forced downwardly. Such downwardmovement of the contactor assembly increases the contact pressure of thearms 32a of the bridging contactor against the pair of discretecontactsand moves the contact areas between the arms 32a of the bridgingcontactor and the pair of discrete contacts outwardly before thebridging contactor starts to' move and break the circuit. This shift orwiping of the contact areas before breaking assures long life of theswitch because any small degree of arcing and burning of the contactsand arms 32a does not affect or cause an increase in contact resistancebetween the arms 32a and the contacts after many operations oftheswitch.

The operation of the switch 10 has been described for a movement of theslider 16 in a direction from right to left in FIGS. 5 and 6, however,it is to be understood that the same principles of operation apply whenthe slider 16 is moved from left to right in FIGS. 5 and 6. It is to benoted that while four discrete contacts 28 are shown the specific numberof positions does not affect the motion from one position to an adjacentposition. Thus it is seen that the invention provides a slide switch 10with snap action motion of a contactor 32 between multiple positions inselective engagement with a common contact 27 and one of a plurality ofdiscrete contacts 28.

While there has been illustrated and described what is at presentconsideration the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will beappreciated that numerous changes and modifications are likely to occurto those skilled in the art and it is intended in the appended claims tocover all of those changes and modifications which fall within the truespirit and scope of the present invention.

We claim:

1. A multiple contact slide switch comprising a housing having aplurality of walls, said housing having an opening extending through oneof said walls, a plurality of discrete contacts mounted within saidhousing, a contactor assembly movable within said housing forselectively engaging two of said discrete contacts to establish a closedcircuit therebetween, a slider having a handle extending outwardlythrough said opening, resilient means biasing said contactor assembly tomove with said slider, said resilient means permitting relative movementbetween the contactor assembly and the slider, restraining meansreleasably maintaining said contactor assembly positioned in engagementwith said two of said discrete contacts, and releasing means whereby apredetermined movement of said slider relative to said contactorassembly actuates said releasing means and releases said contactorassembly from said restraining means thereby permitting said resilientmeans to move said contactor assembly to a position in engagement withanother two of said discrete contacts at least one of which is differentfrom said first two, said releasing means comprising a pair of first camsurfaces and a pair of second cam surfaces, one of said slider and saidcontactor assembly having a channel formed therein having divergingtapered end surfaces defining said second cam surfaces, ,said first camsurfaces being positioned in said channel, said predetermined movementof said slider relative to said contactor assembly causing one of saidfirst cam surfaces to engage one of said second cam surfaces and moverelative thereto.

2. The switch of claim 1 wherein said restraining means comprises aplurality of notches in said housing, a projection on said contactorassembly selectively engages one of said notches. I

3. The switch of claim 2 wherein a detent spring is positioned on saidslider to engage the notches in said housing and prevent inadvertentmovement of said slider.

4. The switch of claim 2 wherein said contactor assembly comprises adriver having a groove, and a conductive contactor positioned on saiddriver, said resilient means being a spring seated in said groove, apair of legs on said slider extend over the ends of said groove forcompressing said spring upon relative movement between said driver andsaid slider when said projection is positioned in one of the notches.

S. The switch of claim 1 wherein said contactor assembly comprises adriver and a conductive contactor, said predetermined movement pivotingsaid driver on the conductive contactor.

6. A multiple contact slide switch comprising a housing, a plurality ofdiscrete contacts mounted within said housing, a contactor assemblymovable within said housing engaging said contact track and selectivelyengaging two of said discrete contacts to establish a closed circuittherebetween, a slider mounted for movement relative to said contactorassembly, control operating means for moving said slider relative tosaid contactor assembly, resilient means for biasing said contactorassembly to move with said slider, said resilient means permittingrelative movement between the contactor assembly and the slider,restraining means for releasably maintaining said contactor assemblypositioned in engagement with two of said discrete contacts, andreleasing means for releasing said contactor assembly from saidrestraining means upon a predetermined movement of said slider relativeto said contactor assembly, said releasing means comprising a cam havinga pair of first cam surfaces on one of said slider and said contactorassembly and a pair of second cam surfaces on the other of said sliderand said contactor assembly whereby said predeter mined movement causesone of said first cam surfaces to engage one of said second cam surfacesand move relative thereto, said cam having downwardly converging taperedsurfaces defining said first cam surfaces, and the other of said sliderand said contactor assembly having a channel formed therein havingupwardly diverging tapered end surfaces defining said second camsurfaces, said cam being positioned in said channel.

7. The switch of claim 6 wherein said restraining means comprises aplurality of notches in said housing, a projection on said contactorassembly selectively engages one of said notches.

8. The switch of claim 7 wherein said contactor assembly comprises adriver having a groove, and a conductive contactor positioned on saiddriver, said resilient means being a spring seated in said groove, apair of legs on said slider extend over the ends of said groove forcompressing said spring upon relative movement between said driver andsaid slider when said projection is positioned in one of the notches.-

9. A multiple contact slide switch comprising a housing having aplurality of walls, said housing having a slot extending through one ofsaid walls, a slider having a handle extending outwardly through saidslot, a plurality of discrete contacts positioned within said housing, acontactor assembly movable within said housing for selectively engagingtwo of said discrete contacts to establish a closed circuittherebetween, a

spring biasing said contactor assembly to move with said slider, saidspring permitting relative movement between the contactor assembly andthe slider, restraining means releasably maintaining said contactorassembly positioned in engagement with said two of said discretecontacts, a pair of first cam surfaces on said contactor assembly, apair of second cam surfaces on said slider whereby a predeterminedmovement of said slider relative to said contactor assembly causes oneof said first cam surfaces and one of said second cam surfaces tomatingly engage and release said contactor assembly from saidrestraining means thereby permitting said spring to move said contactorassembly into engagement with another of said discrete contacts, saidcontactor assembly having a channel formed therein having upwardlydiverging tapered end surfaces defining said first cam surfaces and saidslider having a depending cam having downwardly converging taperedsurfaces defining said second cam surfaces, said cam being positioned insaid channel.

10. A snap action multiple contact slide switch comprising a housinghaving a plurality of walls, said housing having a slot extendingthrough one of said walls, a plurality of discrete contacts mountedwithin said housing, a terminal electrically connected to each of saiddiscrete contacts, said terminals extending outwardly from said housingfor connection to an electrical circuit, a contactor assembly movablewithin said housing for selectively engaging two of said discretecontacts to establish a closed circuit therebetween, a plurality ofnotches in said housing, a projection on said contactor assemblyengaging one of said notches to maintain said-contactor assembly inengagement with the two discrete contacts, a slider having a handleextending outwardly of said housing through said slot, a spring biasingsaid contactor assembly to move with said slider, said spring permittingrelative movement between said slider and said contactor assembly,engagement of said projection in said notchreleasably restraining saidcontactor assembly against movement with said slider, a first camsurface on said contactor assembly, a second cam surface on said sliderwhereby a predetermined movement of said slider relative to saidcontactor assembly causes said cam surfaces to matingly engage and moverelative to each other to release said projection from said notchthereby permitting said spring to move said contactor assembly intoengagement with another of said discrete contacts and move saidprojection into engagementwith another of said notches, said contactorassembly having a groove and said spring being seated in said groove, apair of legs on said slider extending over the ends of said groove forcompressing said spring upon relative movement between said driver andsaid slider when said projection is'positioned in one of said notches,said legs extending to the wall opposite the wall having said slot torestrain said driver from rocking.

11. The switch of claim 10 wherein said contactor assembly comprises adriver and a conductive contactor, movement of said cam surfacesrelative to one anotherpivoting said driver on the conductive contactorand releasing said projection from said notch.

' 12. In a multiple contact slide switch the combination'comprising ahousing, a plurality of discrete contacts mounted within said housing, acontactor assembly movable within said housing selectively engaging twoof said discrete :contacts to establish a closed circuit therebetween, aslider mounted for movement relative to said contactor assembly, controloperating means for moving said slider, resilient means for permittingrelative movement between the contactor assembly and the slider,restraining means for releasably maintaining said contactor assemblypositioned in engagement with one of said discrete contacts, andreleasing means whereby a predetermined movement of said slider relativeto said contactor assembly actuates said releasing means and releasessaid contactor assembly from said restraining means, said releasingmeans comprising a pair of first cam surfaces and a pair of second camsurfaces, one of said slider and said contactor as sembly having adepending cam having converging tapered surfaces defining said pair offirst cam surfaces, the other of said slider and said contactor assemblyhaving a channel formed therein having end surfaces defining said secondcam surfaces, said cam being positioned between said pair of second camsurfaces.

13. The switch of claim I wherein the other of said slider and saidcontactor assembly has a'depending cam having converging taperedsurfaces defining said pair of first cam surfaces.

14. The switch of claim 4 wherein said legs extend to the wall oppositesaid one of said walls to restrain said driver from rocking.

15. The switch of claim 14 wherein a detent spring is posislider extendover the ends of said spring for compressing said.

spring upon relative movement between said driver and said slider, saidlegs extending to the wall opposite said one of said walls to restrainsaid driver from rocking.

18. The switch of claim 21 wherein said contactor assembly comprises adriver having a groove, and a conductive contactor positioned on saiddriver, said resilient means being a spring seated in said groove, apair of legs on said slider extend over the ends of said groove forcompressing said spring upon relative movement between said driver andsaid slider when said projection is positioned in one of the notches.

19. The switch of claim 18 wherein said restraining'means comprises aplurality of notches in said housing, a projection on said contactorassembly selectively engages one of said notches.

20. The switch of claim 18 wherein said legs extend to a wall of thehousing to restrain said driver from rocking.

I i i i i

1. A multiple contact slide switch comprising a housing having aplurality of walls, said housing having an opening extending through oneof said walls, a plurality of discrete contacts mounted within saidhousing, a contactor assembly movable within said housing forselectively engaging two of said discrete contacts to establish a closedcircuit therebetween, a slider having a handle extending outwardlythrough said opening, resilient means biasing said contactor assembly tomove with said slider, said resilient means permitting relative movementbetween the contactor assembly and the slider, restraining meansreleasably maintaining said contactor assembly positioned in engagementwith said two of said discrete contacts, and releasing means whereby apredetermined movement of said slider relative to said contactorassembly actuates said releasing means and releases said contactorassembly from said restraining means thereby permitting said resilientmeans to move said contactor assembly to a position in engagement withanother two of said discrete contacts at least one of which is differentfrom said first two, saId releasing means comprising a pair of first camsurfaces and a pair of second cam surfaces, one of said slider and saidcontactor assembly having a channel formed therein having divergingtapered end surfaces defining said second cam surfaces, said first camsurfaces being positioned in said channel, said predetermined movementof said slider relative to said contactor assembly causing one of saidfirst cam surfaces to engage one of said second cam surfaces and moverelative thereto.
 2. The switch of claim 1 wherein said restrainingmeans comprises a plurality of notches in said housing, a projection onsaid contactor assembly selectively engages one of said notches.
 3. Theswitch of claim 2 wherein a detent spring is positioned on said sliderto engage the notches in said housing and prevent inadvertent movementof said slider.
 4. The switch of claim 2 wherein said contactor assemblycomprises a driver having a groove, and a conductive contactorpositioned on said driver, said resilient means being a spring seated insaid groove, a pair of legs on said slider extend over the ends of saidgroove for compressing said spring upon relative movement between saiddriver and said slider when said projection is positioned in one of thenotches.
 5. The switch of claim 1 wherein said contactor assemblycomprises a driver and a conductive contactor, said predeterminedmovement pivoting said driver on the conductive contactor.
 6. A multiplecontact slide switch comprising a housing, a plurality of discretecontacts mounted within said housing, a contactor assembly movablewithin said housing engaging said contact track and selectively engagingtwo of said discrete contacts to establish a closed circuittherebetween, a slider mounted for movement relative to said contactorassembly, control operating means for moving said slider relative tosaid contactor assembly, resilient means for biasing said contactorassembly to move with said slider, said resilient means permittingrelative movement between the contactor assembly and the slider,restraining means for releasably maintaining said contactor assemblypositioned in engagement with two of said discrete contacts, andreleasing means for releasing said contactor assembly from saidrestraining means upon a predetermined movement of said slider relativeto said contactor assembly, said releasing means comprising a cam havinga pair of first cam surfaces on one of said slider and said contactorassembly and a pair of second cam surfaces on the other of said sliderand said contactor assembly whereby said predetermined movement causesone of said first cam surfaces to engage one of said second cam surfacesand move relative thereto, said cam having downwardly converging taperedsurfaces defining said first cam surfaces, and the other of said sliderand said contactor assembly having a channel formed therein havingupwardly diverging tapered end surfaces defining said second camsurfaces, said cam being positioned in said channel.
 7. The switch ofclaim 6 wherein said restraining means comprises a plurality of notchesin said housing, a projection on said contactor assembly selectivelyengages one of said notches.
 8. The switch of claim 7 wherein saidcontactor assembly comprises a driver having a groove, and a conductivecontactor positioned on said driver, said resilient means being a springseated in said groove, a pair of legs on said slider extend over theends of said groove for compressing said spring upon relative movementbetween said driver and said slider when said projection is positionedin one of the notches.
 9. A multiple contact slide switch comprising ahousing having a plurality of walls, said housing having a slotextending through one of said walls, a slider having a handle extendingoutwardly through said slot, a plurality of discrete contacts positionedwithin said housing, a contactor assembly movable within said housingfor selectively engaging two of said discrete contacTs to establish aclosed circuit therebetween, a spring biasing said contactor assembly tomove with said slider, said spring permitting relative movement betweenthe contactor assembly and the slider, restraining means releasablymaintaining said contactor assembly positioned in engagement with saidtwo of said discrete contacts, a pair of first cam surfaces on saidcontactor assembly, a pair of second cam surfaces on said slider wherebya predetermined movement of said slider relative to said contactorassembly causes one of said first cam surfaces and one of said secondcam surfaces to matingly engage and release said contactor assembly fromsaid restraining means thereby permitting said spring to move saidcontactor assembly into engagement with another of said discretecontacts, said contactor assembly having a channel formed therein havingupwardly diverging tapered end surfaces defining said first cam surfacesand said slider having a depending cam having downwardly convergingtapered surfaces defining said second cam surfaces, said cam beingpositioned in said channel.
 10. A snap action multiple contact slideswitch comprising a housing having a plurality of walls, said housinghaving a slot extending through one of said walls, a plurality ofdiscrete contacts mounted within said housing, a terminal electricallyconnected to each of said discrete contacts, said terminals extendingoutwardly from said housing for connection to an electrical circuit, acontactor assembly movable within said housing for selectively engagingtwo of said discrete contacts to establish a closed circuittherebetween, a plurality of notches in said housing, a projection onsaid contactor assembly engaging one of said notches to maintain saidcontactor assembly in engagement with the two discrete contacts, aslider having a handle extending outwardly of said housing through saidslot, a spring biasing said contactor assembly to move with said slider,said spring permitting relative movement between said slider and saidcontactor assembly, engagement of said projection in said notchreleasably restraining said contactor assembly against movement withsaid slider, a first cam surface on said contactor assembly, a secondcam surface on said slider whereby a predetermined movement of saidslider relative to said contactor assembly causes said cam surfaces tomatingly engage and move relative to each other to release saidprojection from said notch thereby permitting said spring to move saidcontactor assembly into engagement with another of said discretecontacts and move said projection into engagement with another of saidnotches, said contactor assembly having a groove and said spring beingseated in said groove, a pair of legs on said slider extending over theends of said groove for compressing said spring upon relative movementbetween said driver and said slider when said projection is positionedin one of said notches, said legs extending to the wall opposite thewall having said slot to restrain said driver from rocking.
 11. Theswitch of claim 10 wherein said contactor assembly comprises a driverand a conductive contactor, movement of said cam surfaces relative toone another pivoting said driver on the conductive contactor andreleasing said projection from said notch.
 12. In a multiple contactslide switch the combination comprising a housing, a plurality ofdiscrete contacts mounted within said housing, a contactor assemblymovable within said housing selectively engaging two of said discretecontacts to establish a closed circuit therebetween, a slider mountedfor movement relative to said contactor assembly, control operatingmeans for moving said slider, resilient means for permitting relativemovement between the contactor assembly and the slider, restrainingmeans for releasably maintaining said contactor assembly positioned inengagement with one of said discrete contacts, and releasing meanswhereby a predetermined movement of said slider relative to saidcontActor assembly actuates said releasing means and releases saidcontactor assembly from said restraining means, said releasing meanscomprising a pair of first cam surfaces and a pair of second camsurfaces, one of said slider and said contactor assembly having adepending cam having converging tapered surfaces defining said pair offirst cam surfaces, the other of said slider and said contactor assemblyhaving a channel formed therein having end surfaces defining said secondcam surfaces, said cam being positioned between said pair of second camsurfaces.
 13. The switch of claim 1 wherein the other of said slider andsaid contactor assembly has a depending cam having converging taperedsurfaces defining said pair of first cam surfaces.
 14. The switch ofclaim 4 wherein said legs extend to the wall opposite said one of saidwalls to restrain said driver from rocking.
 15. The switch of claim 14wherein a detent spring is positioned on said slider to engage thenotches in said housing and prevent inadvertent movement of said slider.16. The switch of claim 8 wherein said legs extend to the wall oppositesaid one of said walls to restrain said driver from rocking.
 17. Theswitch of claim 9 wherein a pair of legs on said slider extend over theends of said spring for compressing said spring upon relative movementbetween said driver and said slider, said legs extending to the wallopposite said one of said walls to restrain said driver from rocking.18. The switch of claim 21 wherein said contactor assembly comprises adriver having a groove, and a conductive contactor positioned on saiddriver, said resilient means being a spring seated in said groove, apair of legs on said slider extend over the ends of said groove forcompressing said spring upon relative movement between said driver andsaid slider when said projection is positioned in one of the notches.19. The switch of claim 18 wherein said restraining means comprises aplurality of notches in said housing, a projection on said contactorassembly selectively engages one of said notches.
 20. The switch ofclaim 18 wherein said legs extend to a wall of the housing to restrainsaid driver from rocking.